Bennett establishes fish farm near Graymont

Thursday

Apr 18, 2013 at 2:01 PMApr 18, 2013 at 2:05 PM

Cynthia Grau

Steve Bennett of Pontiac has been hard at work, designing his own tilapia farm north of Graymont in his mission to create a self-sustainable farm to feed more people.“The fact of the matter is, we’re making people, but we’re not making dirt. We have to figure out how to make more food with less space,” Bennett explained. “I can feed a lot of people. On my five acres, I could probably feed 5,000 people, with the fish and produce. It’s phenomenal that I could produce that much food in that small of a space. Now the idea is to get it off grid and self-sustaining so no matter what happens, I can keep producing food.”The farm, which has been in his family since the early 1800s, is undergoing renovations to return it to its natural state, to include wetlands and a lake. Bennett had originally planned on putting the tilapia facility inside the old Don’s Red Fox, of which he is an owner, but once he found out the building couldn’t handle what he was planning, he moved it out to the farm.He said 33 acres of existing field would be taken out of production, as he’s digging a 6.2-acre lake. The area surrounding will be planted with trees and prairie grasses, as well as Christmas trees and nursery stock planted on another part of the farm.Five acres of the land will be used to grow produce, including fruits and vegetables of all kinds.The big draw of the farm is the 60-by-80 foot building, which features spray foam insulation and concrete floors, that houses his stock of 3,000 tilapia.Bennett has a system that saves water and uses it in multiple manners, from sustaining the fish to watering and fertilizing the crops.“There are pipes in each side of the building that catch rain water and one in the center of the building catches fish water. I mix them together and I have them to water all my plants. No more droughts for us,” Bennett said. “I had no crops last year. I had one batch of sweet corn to take in town to sell.” He said that anyone could come see how the system works, as he has even installed a wheelchair ramp up to view the fish. “This is all my own design. How the system works is the water comes in to each of the tanks. Then it gets filtered to the sump pit, which collects fecal matter and other solids. It’s heated and is pumped all the way back around to what I call a bioreactor, which uses natural organisms to eat the nitrates, nitrites, and it naturally clears the water. It goes into a drain and out into a holding tank, so I don’t waste any water,” he said.His goal is to be completely self-sustaining and he is currently looking for grant availability for finishing his project.“I can get wind and solar power out here because I’ve learned the electrical draw is four amps total, which isn’t a lot, so with a couple of windmills, I could take the whole operation off the grid so that it could be totally self-sustained at that point,” he said. “I’m in the process of looking for those grants because this work is beyond my financial capabilities.”He set up the farm and the building to make more room available for expansion.“I designed it so there could be three pods and then the additional area could be used for starter plants. They would be here until March or April, and then take them in to John Pauly Produce (at the old Don’s Red Fox) and then they’re ready to go. I’m going to be growing everything on my own with natural fish water,” he said.He has proven his system of raising the tilapia works and now he’s going to prove that using the fish water and fertilizer will be just as successful. He hopes that this year’s harvest will be bigger and tastier than before he used his new system.“A lot of people do this as a hobby,” he pointed out. “This is my agriculture and I believe in it. It’s more of the future than it is a fad.”For further information, Bennett can be reached via e-mail at steve@bennettelectronics.com.